You need a scaled score of at least 200 on each of English Language Skills, Reading and Mathematics, and at least 6 out of 8 on the Essay. The 6-of-8 essay standard took effect on 1 January 2025; the older 8-of-12 figure is expired and still appears on third-party sites and even on one official objectives page.
Search for the FTCE General Knowledge passing score and you will find two different essay figures, both presented with confidence. One of them expired at the end of 2024. The other is the one you will be marked against.
This is not a trivial discrepancy. The two figures come from different rubrics with different maximum scores, so a candidate preparing against the wrong one is preparing against a different marking scheme, not merely a different number.
Here are the current passing scores for all four subtests, how the essay is actually marked, and where the outdated figure is still published — including on a page that is officially Florida's own.
Three of the four subtests are multiple choice and are scored on a scale. English Language Skills, Reading and Mathematics each require a scaled score of at least 200.
The Essay is marked differently, on a rubric rather than a scale, and requires at least 6 out of a possible 8.
You must pass all four to hold the General Knowledge Test. Each is scored separately, which is what makes a failure recoverable — you retake only the subtest you failed.
The essay is read by two independent raters. Each awards a score on a 1 to 4 rubric, and the two are combined for a total between 2 and 8. Passing is 6.
If the two raters' scores differ by more than one point — that is, if they are neither identical nor adjacent — an FTCE Chief Rater resolves the discrepancy.
The reason a different number circulates is that this is not how the essay was marked before 2025. Under the previous, redeveloped-out rubric, each rater scored on a 1 to 6 scale for a combined total of 2 to 12, and passing was 8. That standard applied up to 31 December 2024 and does not apply to any sitting since.
The 6-of-8 standard has been in force since 1 January 2025. If a study guide, a course or a forum post tells you that you need 8, it is describing a rubric that no longer exists — and, more practically, it is telling you to aim at a scale that is not the one your essay will be read on.
This is worth stating plainly because it is the reason the confusion persists: the outdated 8-of-12 figure still appears on the official test information guide page for the General Knowledge objectives.
The scoring and score reporting pages — which are the pages that govern how your essay is actually marked — carry 6 of 8 and state the 1 January 2025 effective date. Where the two disagree, the scoring pages are the ones that describe what happens to your paper.
We use 6 of 8 throughout our own guide for that reason, and we flag it rather than quietly picking one. A candidate who has seen both numbers deserves to know which is which and why.
Verify on the state's current scoring pages before you sit. That instruction is not boilerplate here — it is the specific remedy for a discrepancy that exists today.
Together with the passing standards, these are the structural facts worth having in front of you when you plan which subtests to sit and when.
| Subtest | Code | Format | Time | To pass |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 825 | 1 prompt | 50 minutes | 6 of 8 (two raters, 1–4 each) |
| English Language Skills | 826 | about 30 multiple choice | 40 minutes | scaled 200 |
| Reading | 827 | about 30 multiple choice, about 5 passages | 55 minutes | scaled 200 |
| Mathematics | 828 | about 35 multiple choice | 1 hour 40 minutes | scaled 200 |
A scaled score is not a percentage and does not translate into one. You cannot work backwards from 200 to a number of questions you must answer correctly, and any source that offers you such a conversion is guessing. Prepare against the competencies, which is what the score measures.
The essay figure, by contrast, is directly actionable. Six out of eight from two raters on a 1 to 4 rubric means you need both raters to place your essay comfortably above the midpoint. One strong rater cannot carry a weak one very far, and a wide split does not help you — it triggers a Chief Rater review rather than an average in your favour.
What that implies for preparation is unglamorous: consistency beats brilliance. A clearly organised, fully developed essay that does everything the rubric asks scores better with two independent readers than an ambitious one that does some things very well and others not at all.
And there is a route that avoids the test entirely for some candidates. Florida accepts qualifying scores on the GRE, SAT, ACT and CLT as an alternative means of demonstrating mastery of general knowledge, subject to conditions on when those tests were taken. Check whether you already qualify before booking anything.
A scaled score of at least 200 on each of English Language Skills, Reading and Mathematics, and at least 6 out of 8 on the Essay. All four must be passed.
Six, out of a maximum of eight. The 8-out-of-12 figure came from the previous rubric and applied only up to 31 December 2024. The 6-of-8 standard has been in force since 1 January 2025.
The test information guide page for the General Knowledge objectives still displays the old 8-of-12 figure, while the scoring and score reporting pages carry 6 of 8 with its effective date. The scoring pages describe how your essay is actually marked.
Two independent raters each score it on a 1 to 4 rubric, combining to a total between 2 and 8. If the two scores differ by more than one point, an FTCE Chief Rater resolves it.
There is no published conversion, and anyone offering one is guessing. A scaled score is not a percentage. Prepare against the listed competencies rather than trying to reverse-engineer a target number of correct answers.
Some candidates can. Florida accepts qualifying GRE, SAT, ACT and CLT scores as an alternative means of demonstrating mastery of general knowledge, subject to rules about when the test was taken and how recent the score is.
Rules change. Where a figure or a procedure can move, the issuing agency’s current published instructions win over anything here.
